Page 90 of Racing Hearts
“No, I haven’t had time, but I need to head back. There’s a dinner organized by Edward.”
“Great. Try to enjoy tonight, yeah? Maybe even sneak in one glass of wine.”
I managed a laugh, giving her a mock salute. My phone pinged, and I opened it to see a text from Luca.
Luca:
Heard you got called into Giovanni’s office. Totally unfair. Youokay?
Georgia:
Thanks. Yeah, I’m fine. Got to watch Isabelle scream at Giovanni, soit wasn’t all a loss.
Three dots appeared on my screen, and it felt like seconds had turned into hours as I waited for Luca’s response.
Luca:
I’ve got a busy week this week, so I won’t be at the hotel much, butI didn’t want you to hear this from anyone else. It releases later thisevening.
As I clicked on the screenshot of the press release Luca had attached, my heart burst into a million mixed emotions.
Well, fuck.
Chapter Forty-One
Georgia
Formula 1 driver Luca Rossi has officially signed with RennenF1.
The racer had been linked to several teams, but has now landed acontract with Rennen, the third-place team in the Constructor’sChampionship.
After the retirement announcement of their team leader, Rennen hasbeen looking for an experienced driver to fill the position.
Emotions soared through me too quickly for me to pick just one. Each reread of the press release left me feeling more and more confused. Luca had signed with a new Formula 1 team?
The morning of our last day on the yacht, I could see a staunch change in Luca’s demeanor. The happy-go-lucky, relaxed Luca that I had come to enjoy had turned sour. It had been two weeks since Mallorca, and all I’d received were some casual text messages. At first, I blamed our grueling midseason training camps. We were all exhausted, running on discipline and adrenaline. But deep down, I knew it wasn’t just that.
Luca was never one for complete silence, and his lack of words spoke volumes.
Something had shifted between us. Something I couldn’t name. Maybe Henri had been right all along. Maybe Luca had gotten what he wanted—press coverage, sympathy, a glossy image—and now he no longer needed this. No longer needed me.
And even though I’d agreed with myself that I was going to tell Luca that I needed more space, now that all I had was space, I knew it wasn’t what I wanted.
My head buzzed like white noise. A thousand conflicting thoughts spinning around at once, but underneath it all, one emotion floated to the surface: sadness. Pure and heavy. He’d achieved what I so desperately wanted for him, an opportunity to step out of his father’s shadow. And I was sad that I wasn’t there to celebrate the signing with him.
He’d done it. He had finally broken free of his father’s legacy. Stepped into a spotlight of his own making. The thing I wanted most for him had come true.
And I wasn’t there to celebrate with him.
“Earth to Georgia.” Lily’s voice rang beside me, breaking through the fog of my thoughts. I blinked, realizing I’d been standing outside my hotel room, key card poised uselessly in front of the door. Lily cocked an amused eyebrow. “You planning to camp out in the hallway?”
She and Nora had driven us to the hotel, with me staring silently out the window the entire ride, the press release echoing in my brain like a bad chorus. I hadn’t mentioned Luca’s impending press release, but I knew by tomorrow morning the entire paddock would be talking about it.
“I’ve heard the suites in this hotel are so nice!” Lily stood behind me, practically breathing down my neck.
“Well, don’t forget I have a roommate,” I said dryly, giving Lily a furrowed brow to remind her why I had a suite in the first place.
As the door swung open, my breath caught, hard. I gasped so loudly my phone slipped from my fingers, clattering to the hallway floor. Nora and Lily rushed in after me like a herd of stampeding wildebeests.
